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Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who starts third: "It's a little bit of surprise but we knew Red Bull and Ferrari will be quick here. We have been able to work well as a team and today was a good day for us. We have a real chance to get some points here."

14:32

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Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who qualified second: "I think probably the nature of the track suits us a little bit more - less straights but historically we've always has a competitive car around here, so we are a little closer but Rosberg's final lap was very good.

"The gap was a little bit bigger than we hoped for. If you can get everything perfect and Nico had a little bit of a wobble you can have a crack. Q3 was a little bit of a mixed bag, so with dry conditions at the end was optimum.

14:30

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"It's a pity for the team, not a good thing," adds Nico Rosberg of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton's misfortune in qualifying. "We need to work on that. That's reliability. I would prefer to be out there battling for Lewis, that would give me the maximum adrenalin rush.

"I'm happy but it wasn't a gloves-off battle with Lewis. It takes away a bit of the happiness. Tomorrow will be a challenging race, especially with the weather coming, so it is all to play for."

14:27

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Nico Rosberg, who starts on pole: "Qualifying three was a really big challenge, the track was changing all time at the beginning. Starting the lap, I was the first one to arrive at the first corner, it was difficult to judge.

"It was very, very wet so I did take it a bit easy and I managed to avoid crashing. It was just massively difficult down there. From then on, it was easier as it started drying again. My last lap, it was nice to nail it."

14:24

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APCopyright: AP

Daniil Kvyat's qualifying didn't quite go to plan either, the Russian touching the white line which unsettled the car and sent him spinning out. He qualified 11th.

14:21

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The top three - (left to right Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas) - pose for a post-qualifying photo before heading upstairs for the news conference. We'll hear from them shortly.

Posted at 13:21 26 Jul 201413:21 26 Jul 2014

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Mercedes: Devastating misfortune for Lewis. But he did it in Hockenheim, he can do it again here: bring on the #HungarianGP.

14:18

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APCopyright: AP

Here's a shot of Kevin Magnussen's severely damaged McLaren, after he was caught out by the tricky wet conditions at Turn One.

14:15

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Lewis Hamilton will start either 21st or in the pit lane, depending on their strategy. The Briton can at least take solace in the fact rain could cause chaos in tomorrow race which will help him rise through the field.

14:12

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BBC weatherman Ian Fergusson: "Wow....so, so close to a drenching...a higher chance of showers tomorrow, however."

gerrri99: This is getting suspicious, and wrecking our enjoyment of F1. Keep the faith Lewis!

13:35

DROP ZONE

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Everyone is in the pits with four minutes remaining. Nico Hulkenerg (pictured), Sergio Perez, Esteban Gutierrez, Adrian Sutil, Romain Grosjean and Jules Bianchi are in the drop zone.

13:32

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Nico Rosberg goes quickest with a 1:23.310, three tenths quicker than Sebastian Vettel with Daniel Ricciardo slotting into third.

13:31

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Lewis Hamilton, who is out of qualifying after his Mercedes caught on fire,talking to Jennie Gow on 5 live: "We'll have to replace the engine and gearbox, but with that penalty it's a good thing - I can't go any further back [on the grid].

"There's a lot going through my mind, but I just have to try to turn it into positives until tomorrow. I think it's getting to the point when it's kind of beyond bad luck. We need to do better."

13:30

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Valtteri Bottas sets the fastest lap of the day with a 1:24.001, half a second clear of Williams team-mate Felipe Massa.

13:29

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Sergio Perez is the first out in his Force India. Six more drivers to go in this session.

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RETIREMENT

Absolute misery for Pastor Maldonado who rolls to a stop out on track without even setting a lap time. The Lotus driver has had a reasonably smooth weekend so far, but the gremlins return when it matters.

13:00

FIRST QUALIFYING STARTS

Despite the clouds, the weather remains dry. Temperatures have dropped to 28C, with the track temperatures up at 47. I'm told there is a 30% chance of rain during the session.

12:57

STANDINGS

Coming to Hungary, Nico Rosberg leads Lewis Hamilton by 14 points with Daniel Ricciardo a further 70 adrift in third. In the constructors, Mercedes lead on 366, with Red Bull their closest challengers on 188.

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Double world champion Fernando Alonso has not won in Hungary since his record-breaking debut Formula 1 win at the Hungaroring in 2003, when at 22 years 26 days he was the youngest man ever to win a race. The Spaniard has since lost the record to Sebastian Vettel, who triumphed in Italy 2008 aged 21 years 73 days.

Posted at 11:48 26 Jul 201411:48 26 Jul 2014

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Jennie Gow

BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

Jennie GowCopyright: Jennie Gow

"Smiling through the pain! Toto on top form regardless!"

Mercedes co-team boss Toto Wolff suffered a number of fractures in a cycling accident before the racing weekend, hence the sling.

12:40

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ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Championship leader Nico Rosberg is a stickler for routine, always warming up for a session with a kick-about behind the Mercedes motorhome.

12:35

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Mercedes have taken nine poles in 10 races so far, the only blip coming in Austria where Felipe Massa took a shock pole for Williams. Nico Rosberg holds the advantage at Mercedes, taking five to Lewis Hamilton's four. Can the Brit level it up today?

Posted at 11:38 26 Jul 201411:38 26 Jul 2014

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The Hungarian Grand Prix has been staged at the Hungaroring since 1986Image caption: The Hungarian Grand Prix has been staged at the Hungaroring since 1986

"It doesn't look much, the Hungaroring, a short ribbon of dusty asphalt winding around a surprisingly small natural amphitheatre 12 miles or so outside Budapest. But its appearance belies the fact that this slow and twisty track is one of the most demanding on the Formula 1 calendar.

"The section from Turn Four to Turn 11 is the highlight - as BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard describes it: 'Relentless, just corner after corner after corner, getting faster all the time.'"

12:30

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This is your 30-minute warning until the start of qualifying.

12:27

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Valtteri Bottas helped Williams move into third place in the constructors' championship in Germany last time out, a height the team has not scaled since they were second in the 2003 season. That year, Juan Pablo Montoya won the Monaco Grand Prix (pictured), one of the team's four wins that season.

12:23

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Qualifying starts at 13:00 BST, with BBC Radio 5 live sports extra kicking off five minutes before. Highlights will follow later on today at 17:40 BST on BBC Two. That's right between Hive Alive and Antiques Road Trip. What a prospect, eh?

12:21

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As I just mentioned, Lewis Hamilton has had a shocker in each of the last five qualifying sessions. It a huge turnaround for a man who was once considered a master of the one-hour shoot-out.

It's all gone to plan for the Mercedes driver so far this weekend, the Briton finishing top of the pile in all three practice sessions, with team-mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg riding shotgun. The challenge of making that four in a row will begin shortly.

12:18

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Hello everybody and welcome to live text commentary of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the dusty, tight and twisty Hungaroring.

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"There was a bit of a kerfuffle in the team bosses' news conference on Friday, when Red Bull's Christian Horner snapped after what he perceived as one too many questions on the wisdom of holding a Russian Grand Prix in the aftermath of the downing of the Malaysian Airlines jet last week and the country's dubious human rights record. 'Look,' Horner said impatiently, 'there's a calendar that comes out in October and November.

"'We all have a choice whether we enter the World Championship or not. All the people sitting here are racers and they're here because they are passionate about the sport and they want to compete. When we sign up for that championship we put our faith and trust in the promoter and the FIA and we will attend those races unless they deem it unnecessary for us to be there. I think it's wrong to make Formula 1 a political statement or subject when we're a sport."

Posted at 10:15 26 Jul 201410:15 26 Jul 2014

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Silly season: Which driver should be at which team? #bbcf1

Sabiha Chohan: Alonso and Grosjean at Mclaren and Hulkenberg at Mercedes... A car that rewards his talent

Tugzy11: Surely it would be nice to see JB relight the flame with Honda! C'mon Ron he needs a least another season

Pogba: I would love to see @LewisHamilton drive for #Ferarri but for this year let's overhaul the point deficit and win the #WDC

11:06

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For a change in 2014, it looks like reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel not Daniel Ricciardo is the fastest Red Bull driver this weekend.

The German finished third quickest and best of the rest behind Mercedes. He was just over two tenths quicker than Australian team-mate Ricciardo.

Posted at 10:04 26 Jul 201410:04 26 Jul 2014

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Allan McNish

BBC Radio 5 live analyst

"Lewis has been fast round here in the past, but we have seen this situation before where Nico can pull it out of the bag. It's been so close between them all season, but I think Lewis will just edge it."

CHEQUERED FLAG

Lewis Hamilton completes the practice session hat-trick in Hungary as he goes fastest in third and final practice.

10:59

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Nico Rosberg can't topple Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but he does close to within 0.049 seconds of the Briton.

10:58

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Lewis Hamilton has pitted. That's his session over. He didn't manage to do another timed lap after a flier. His team-mate Nico Rosberg, though, is still out there and on a third flying lap on the same set of tyres.

10:56

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Sebastian Vettel is looking racy, the reigning world champion going third, four tenths off the pace in second. But he's bumped down a place after Nico Rosberg does a cool down lap and then puts the hammer down. The German improves to just two tenths slower than his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

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"In an up-and-down start to his Formula 1 career, McLaren's Kevin Magnussen has driven some great qualifying laps but he continues to tend to fade in races, other than his marvellous debut in Australia. But there is a sense that he is beginning to find his feet. And after out-qualifying team-mate Jenson Button in Germany a week ago by seven places, he again looks on good form in Hungary.

"The most recent upgrades on the McLaren have given him the confidence to push harder on corner entry and he is targeting a top five grid position again. He was fourth in Germany, but as he pointed out that was a de facto fifth because Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes would have beaten him without the Englishman's brake failure. 'The car is feeling good, it's positive,' Magnussen said. 'We should aim for sneaking into the top five but it's going to be difficult.' Button said he 'didn't really get a lap together' because of some braking problems but was confident they would be solved for Saturday."

10:54

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Valtteri Bottas goes second, just 0.184 seconds slower than Nico Rosberg's effort in the Mercedes. Good lap from the Williams driver on the soft tyres.

10:53

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Nico Rosberg loses a bit in the final sector but still goes quickest with a 1:24.501, two tenths quicker than Fernando Alonso. Replays show the German ran well wide at Turn 12, which would have hampered his acceleration on exit.

10:52

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BBC F1 weatherman Ian Fergusson: Showers have duly developed up north of circuit aided by 'push' of high ground, but they won't affect P3.

10:51

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Ferrari's Fernando Alonso does a 1:24.769 to go quickest by nine tenths of a second. However, there is definitely more to come. The Spaniard made a mistake at Turn One, running wide, and then struggled to get the car turned into the final corner.

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"Williams have been super-strong in the last three races, Mercedes' closest competitor. The general expectation going to Hungary was that they would fall back a little, as while their car is slippery, it lacks overall downforce. And many took their relatively lowly positions on Friday - eight and 10th for Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa - as evidence that this assumption was correct.

"But Williams tend to have low-key Fridays and the team seemed confident that a new rear wing aimed at making progress on downforce was a step forward. 'We went through all the updates and I'm really happy that they have worked as we expected, so we've made steps forward with the car.' But the Finn admitted: 'This circuit is tighter and it's going to be more difficult for us than the last three grands prix.' If Williams can be strong this weekend, it bodes well for them for the rest of the season."

Posted at 9:46 26 Jul 20149:46 26 Jul 2014

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Jennie Gow

BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

Jennie GowCopyright: Jennie Gow

"Tweaks to @nico_rosberg car in FP3."

10:45

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Just the three cars on the track right now. The rest are in the pits, preparing for their soft tyre qualifying-simulation run.

10:43

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Lewis Hamilton goes quickest with a 1:25.682, a quarter of a second ahead of Fernando Alonso, with Daniel Ricciardo third, Valtteri Bottas fourth and Nico Rosberg fifth.

That lap by Hamilton was done on 15-lap old tyres - impressive.

10:41

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Lewis Hamilton has been doing a lot of work on hitting his marks in the Mercedes pit box. Every tenth of a second counts, of course. There's still some more work to do, though, as Jennie Gow reports that he clatters the front jack on his last entry.

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Everyone is still pounding round on the medium tyre - which is the prime this weekend. However, we can expect them to switch to the soft, option tyre shortly.

10:35

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Good effort from Fernando Alonso who goes quickest with a 1:25.954, 0.045 seconds quicker than Daniel Ricciardo in second.

10:32

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Jennie Gow reports that Mercedes are using Carbone Industrie brake discs on both cars this weekend. Last week, Lewis Hamilton had a brake disc failure in qualifying. The disc in question was manufactured by Brembo.

Posted at 9:31 26 Jul 20149:31 26 Jul 2014

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"Just as at Monaco, Red Bull were hoping the tight and twisty nature of the Hungaroring, where the quality of their chassis should shine and the lack of power of the Renault engine is not so exposed, would give them a chance to perhaps threaten the Mercedes. So Friday was a reality check.

"The fastest Red Bull, that of Sebastian Vettel, was 0.629 seconds slower than Lewis Hamilton's pace-setting Mercedes on ultimate lap time and 0.436 off on race-pace average. 'Mercedes is far ahead,' Vettel said, while team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who admitted he was struggling, said they were 'further away than we hoped'.

"Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg admitted the gap was 'surprising', adding: 'I was a bit surprised that we had the quickest car here as I expected the Red Bulls to have gotten a bit closer again, so that's a really encouraging start to the weekend. The car feels great and is super-quick in the corners, so overall I'm quite happy.'"

10:30

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Half way through the session, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso heads out on track. Jennie Gow reports that the reason the team had the car up on the jacks was to check the balance of the car.

Posted at 9:28 26 Jul 20149:28 26 Jul 2014

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WilliamsCopyright: Williams

Williams: Nearly halfway through the session & Felipe returns from his run - both drivers talking through set-up changes.

10:27

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Lewis Hamilton can become the most successful man in F1 history at the Hungaroring if he triumphs tomorrow. The Briton, who first won in Hungary in 2007, is currently tied with Michael Schumacher on four wins apiece as drivers with the most victories at the track.

10:24

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Fernando Alonso is the only driver not to have set a flying lap and it doesn't look like he's planning on doing so any time soon. The Spaniard's Ferrari is up on the jacks but no work is going on on the car.

10:23

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The times are starting to tumble, with Daniel Ricciardo the new leader in the Red Bull. The Australian is the first man into the 1m25s.

Lee Smith: Lewis back in a winning McLaren Honda...Vettel at Ferrari..Bianchi & Chilton in more competitive cars & Pastor to the job centre #F1

Cal: Alonso should go back to McLaren - it would benefit both driver and team

10:20

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Valtteri Bottas goes quickest with a 1:26.240, 0.052 seconds clear of Nico Rosberg with Sebastian Vettel just 0.070 seconds adrift in third. Mighty close at the front right now.

10:16

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Lewis Hamilton reports that he can't "seem to stop the car", which explains his off-track excursion earlier in the session. That's not ideal for his confidence, considering his brake disc failure in Germany. He's currently 14th, 1.9 seconds off the pace.

10:13

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PACopyright: PA

The Hungaroring was the first racing circuit in the world to be built specifically for Formula One. It was built in just nine months ahead of its inaugural race in 1986, and has been the permanent home of the Hungarian Grand Prix ever since.

10:10

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As it's silly season in the driver market, which drivers would you like to see behind the wheel of which cars? Fire over your thoughts, with reasons why, via the #bbcf1 hashtag or text 81111 (UK only), remembering to put your name on those SMS messages.

Posted at 9:09 26 Jul 20149:09 26 Jul 2014

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"The height of the summer means it's F1 'silly season', where all sorts of rumours go around about driver movements for the following season and beyond. Many make it into the media; some are true, some aren't. One that has got most tongues wagging this week is a report in a German magazine that Mercedes want to sign Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull, the suggestion being it would be in place for Lewis Hamilton in 2016. It has met with some interesting responses from those involved.

"Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda said they had not talked to Vettel and there was no demand for new drivers at Mercedes. Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche said last weekend it was 'not our intention to have a German national team'. Lewis Hamilton has said he has made it clear he wants to extend his contract beyond the end of 2015 and that Mercedes have told him they do, too. Best of all, though, was from Rosberg: '2016 is, like, two years away. If it's OK I'll let you make your theories yourself. This isn't silly. This is what comes after silly.'"

Posted at 9:09 26 Jul 20149:09 26 Jul 2014

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MarussiaCopyright: Marussia

Marussia: The most important piece of equipment in our garage today. Generates a welcome wind-chill factor, albeit small.

10:08

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Nico Rosberg is out and about and instantly moves to the top of the timesheets with a 1:26.374, seven tenths quicker than Kevin Magnussen.

10:05

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Lewis Hamilton explores the run-off at Turn One, realises he doesn't like it and then rejoins. No harm done.

10:03

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As ever, installation laps are the order of the day early in this session. Jean-Eric Vergne was the first man out in the Toro Rosso.

GO! GO! GO!

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Jack Nicholls and Allan McNish are in the commentary box with Jennie Gow in the pit lane. You can listen live via the video at the top of the page. Mobile users go to the BBC F1 homepage.

09:56

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With four wins in 10 races this season, Nico Rosberg has already surpassed the number of victories he had achieved in his previous 157 grands prix combined. His first triumph came at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix (pictured).

09:54

its-sunny

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It's hot, hot, hot at the Hungaroring, with temperatures expected to hit 30C for qualifying later today. Tomorrow, the warmth is set to remain - however, like last weekend, there is a chance of rain on race day. Watch the full forecast with Ian Fergusson here.

Posted at 8:55 26 Jul 20148:55 26 Jul 2014

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Allan McNish

BBC Radio 5 live analyst

"Lewis Hamilton likes this circuit and he's always fast here. It's important for him to be on pole. After Friday practice, Mercedes are comfortable and there is nothing to choose between the drivers on race pace, and Red Bull are the next in line.

"The Ferrari of Alonso was going pretty quickly but a couple of tenths slower than the Red Bull, then the Force India of Sergio Perez, the McLarens and the Williams, who seem to have dropped back from their form in Germany."

09:48

FAST FACT

GettyCopyright: Getty

Posted at 8:54 26 Jul 20148:54 26 Jul 2014

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"What was eating Lewis Hamilton after Friday practice, despite his strong pace? Fundamentally, it was a lack of grip. 'The tyres don't feel very good here,' he said. 'Very poor grip here. I don't know whether that was tyres or track. I can't remember them feeling so poor grip-wise for some time but it might be the track.'

"And while most said the tyres were lasting well, Hamilton said: 'It's not that great because you're driving so slow to look after the tyres; it feels like you have to slow down too much now, to the point that it's a bit boring. I think they said the race pace was OK but it doesn't feel that great.' As McLaren's Kevin Magnussen said, though, a low-grip track in Hungary is the same for everyone. And Hamilton's only opposition remains his team-mate, who he is determined to beat to pole for the first time in six races."

09:44

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Felipe Massa, who has the older floor on his Williams because he damaged the newer one - which team-mate Valtteri Bottas has - in his first-lap crash in Germany, takes in the sun as he strolls down the pit lane with an engineer. We've got perfect conditions for a spot of Formula 1 action.

09:40

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So while Kevin Magnussen sits on a cabinet at the back of the McLaren garage, overalls rolled down, while chatting to his engineers, let me inform you of the plan for today.

We've got one hour of practice coming up, an opportunity for the drivers to do any final set-up changes before turning their attention to qualifying-simulation runs. That session starts at 10:00 BST, with audio on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra starting five minutes before.

Posted at 8:47 26 Jul 20148:47 26 Jul 2014

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Marussia: Wow. It is PRETTY "Nagyon Meleg" (hot), as they say here in Budapest. Zero chance of rain, or a breeze even. We're SO going to melt.

Posted at 8:43 26 Jul 20148:43 26 Jul 2014

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"Compare and contrast the remarks made by Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg after Friday practice. Hamilton: 'We've got some work to do; the grip feels quite poor.' Rosberg: 'For me it's been a good day.' From that, you might assume that Hamilton had struggled for pace, but nothing could have been further from the truth.

"Quickest in both sessions and neck and neck with his team-mate on their race runs, he looked on top form. One wag joked that it was a bit like 2013 - when every Hamilton pole was preceded by quotes which suggested he'd had 'the worst Friday ever', or something along those lines. On Friday's form, you'd have to reckon on history repeating itself but qualifying and Hamilton have not been happy bedfellows recently. It will be an interesting day."

Posted at 8:38 26 Jul 20148:38 26 Jul 2014

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McLarenCopyright: McLaren

McLaren: #OnThisDay five years ago @LewisHamilton won the #HungarianGP for McLaren - our first win of a difficult season.

09:33

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I'd say a little bit nervous, based on his form in recent qualifying sessions, but also a little confident because he has taken four poles and four wins in seven visits in the Hungaroring. That's a pretty good return.

09:30

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EPACopyright: EPA

Lewis Hamilton dominated Friday practice in Hungary, much like he has all season. But the real challenge starts today.

The Briton, who trails Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg by 14 points in the drivers' standings, has had five consecutive disappointing qualifying sessions - he can't afford another one.